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Village adjusts budget for fire damage

Budget adjustments totaling $715,000, necessitated by the impacts of the Little Bear Fire in June and subsequent flooding of portions of the village's water system were approved earlier this month by the Ruidoso Village Council.

With some state and federal participation, the village's share will be about $325,000, said Village Utilities Director Randall Camp.

The two projects identified were long-term water deliver system modifications to move water from the Alto portion of supply into the Grindstone service area for about $500,000 and water supply changes for about $200,000.

Camp said installation of a pressure reducing valve at the Eagle Creek/North Fork wellfield and reconstruction of the Ebony PRV, along with other system adjustments should be enough to get the village through the winter, but once spring arrives and a greater demand is placed on the water system, a higher capacity feed will be needed for the water storage tanks at Grindstone, he said.

"There is a 12-inch line in Mechem Drive that was installed when the road was rebuilt by the New Mexico Tra_nsportation Department. This line can be used to moved water directly from the Alto tanks to the Grindstone tanks," he said. "It is a complex and expensive project involving installation of more than 40 individual service line PRVs, four full-size PRVs and miscellaneous re-piping.

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The staff prepared a scope of work and Wilson & Company was hired to assist fast tracking a set of bid documents to select a contractor, Camp explained.

"This is a newly identified project and is not currently budgeted," he said. "This is a one-time long-term project for which use of reserve funds can be justified."

The other issue is ensuring enough well capacity to feed the Grindstone system from the Alto system, Camp said.

"The forest service agreed to an updated annual operation plan that recognized the impact of the Little Bear Fire on the village's ability to supply water to customers," Camp wrote in a memorandum to councilors. "We have been authorized to perform maintenance on all four wells and get them back in service. We have on-call service contracts that we have activated to complete this work as quickly as possible. Performing maintenance and restarting these wells is the fastest and cheapest way to increase well pumping capacity."

Councilors added $200,000 to engineering services under the special gross receipt tax fund for water improvements to bring the balance back up to 50 percent of the annual budget.

The draw-down was tied to payment invoices from the previous budget year and from new projects related to the fire and flood, staff wrote.

Another $172,375 was added to the maintenance andrepair line items for water production to bring the balance back up to 50 percent of the year.

The draw-down was connected to payment invoices from the previous year budget and from water quality issues at Grindstone Canyon Reservoir.

More money also will need to be added for well rehabilitation work required by the fire and flood.

The action also added $288,645 to the maintenance and repair line item for water distribution and sewer collection to bring the balance up to 50 percent of the yearly budget.

The draw-down was connected to payment invoices from the previous year and to dramatic increase in water leaks because of the village's aging infrastructure and changes in the system alignment in response to impacts from the fire and flood, Camp said.

In other business, councilors:

approved a transfer of ownership of a liquor license to be used at The Ranchers, 2823 Sud_derth Drive, Ruidoso.

The transfer was requested by Valda Fletcher from Cattle Baron Investments Inc.

approved the mayor's appointment of Ruben Garcia to a vacancy on the Keep Ruidoso Beautiful Com_mittee.

One more opening on the committee needs to be filled.

approved a first renewal agreement with Stream Dynamics Inc. for professional services on the Boggs Springs Drainage Restoration project, dealing with a channel that runs in front of Ruidoso High School.

approved the purchase by Sohrab Kermanj and Elizabeth Stevens of a hangar owned by R. D. Sutherland, along with a new ground lease at the current market rate at Sierra Blanca Regional Airport.

approved scheduling a public hearing for Jan. 8, to adopt an updated zoning map of the village.

approved a resolution authorizing the village to submit an application to the state Department of Finance and Administration, Local Government Div_ision to participate in the Local DWI Grant and Distribution Pro_gram.

approved a memorandum of understanding with Barnett Harley Davidson to lease two 2013 Electra Glide motorcycles for $8,375.80 to include the installation of equipment.

approved an agreement between the Ruidoso Downs Police Department and the village for services rendered as the primary public safety answering point for all 911 calls. The cost allocation is $24,000 annually.

approved participation in Operation Buckle-Down and Operation DWI, grant programs that reimburse the village for overtime worked by police officers to concentrate on seatbelt violations and DWI enforcement.

approved a Justice Assistance Grant Award to the police department for $2,295 to supplement vehicle maintenance.

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